Kaufman Broadcast Year in Review: 2014

An epidemic scare, broken barriers, and grand opening: these are among the top stories Kaufman Broadcast covered in 2014. Whether it was sunny San Diego or the peninsula of Palm Beach, we spanned the country armed with uplinks, experience and a sense of adventure. Here is a look at the Kaufman Broadcast top ten events of 2014.

10) Perfect Shockers: Even after five months, no one could beat Wichita State. The Shockers basketball team finished the regular season 31-0 and cruised through the Missouri Valley Tournament at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis en route to its first conference title in nearly three decades. Wichita State became the first team to finish the regular season undefeated since Saint Joseph’s in 2003-2004. Two days after winning its opening game of the NCAA Tournament, the Shockers fell to eventual national runner up Kentucky, 78-76, in the third round.

Crews make last minute preparations to the field before the start of the NLDS

9) STL Opens BPV: As if Cardinals game weren’t entertaining enough, opening St. Louis Ballpark Village put the experience over the top. BPV has shops, restaurants, a beer garden and the Cardinals Hall of Fame. The hotspot hosts playoff viewing parties. It puts on concerts. And when it came time to unveil thisentertainment epicenter, Kaufman Broadcast was there to produce a live webcast of the opening. Now a must visit destination for tourists and fans alike, St. Louis is the real winner.

8) Red October: The 2014 NLDS was a tale of two cities. Hollywood versus the Hill. Beaches versus Basilica. MVP versus Yadi’s GG. Despite being underdogs, the Cardinals dispatched the NL West champion Dodgers in four games. The Cardinals chased MVP and Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw in Games 1 and 4 with seventh inning rallies, winning each by one run. Cardinal’s Matt Carpenter was a one man wrecking crew on offense, hitting three home runs, driving in seven and batting .375. The series victory clinched the Cardinals fourth consecutive NLCS appearance.

A flyover at Target Field in Minneapolis before the start of the 2014 All Star Game.

7) Seeing Stars: The 85th edition of the MLB All Star Game was hosted in Minneapolis, making the event a homecoming of sorts for our own Mike Witzel. A Minnesota native, Witzel provided satellite transmission, bringing game coverage from the ballpark to televisions everywhere. The game featured Derek Jeter’s final All Star appearance as he and the American League defeated the National League 5-3, clinching AL home field advantage for the World Series.

6) It’s A Family Affair: This autumn was one for the ages. Not only were sporting and social events hand-in-hand in national news, but there was union of a different kind. Niels Black and Madeline Kaufman got married. Our favorite mechanical engineer and Bill Kaufman’s daughter tied the knot on October 12 in scenic Forest Park. Niels and Madeline met while both were attending Northwestern University. The two found common ground in their passions for technology, science fiction, cooking and they’ve since been inseparable.

5) Ebola Scare: One of the biggest stories of 2014 centered on 10 reported cases of the Ebola virus in the United States. The virus claimed two lives as public health concerns reverberated across television and social media. SLU professor and health affairs authority Dr. Alexander Garza was one of Kaufman studios’ most frequent guests; coming in as many as four times a day to discuss the topic on network news broadcasts. Even though the scare last only a couple weeks, the story made an impression as Ebola would go on to be the most third most searched item on Google for 2014.

The one and only, Savannah Lynn Witzel

4) Kaufman Kid: Parenthood gained another couple in 2014. Mike and Holly Witzel welcomed their first child Savannah Lynn Witzel to the world on June 3. Weighing in at 5 pounds, 10.8 ounces, Savannah is the youngest member of Kaufman’s junior engineering program.

3) I Am Sam: Defensive end Michael Sam made history in May, becoming the first openly gay player drafted into the NFL. The former Missouri All-American was selected in the seventh round by the St. Louis Rams. The Rams cut Sam in August to reach the league-mandated 53 player roster limit. While Sam is currently a free agent, his impact has gone far from unnoticed. Sam won the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the 2014 ESPY Awards. He also was named one of GQ‘s Men of the Year and was a finalist for Sports Illustrated‘s Sportsman of the Year.

2) Kings of Kansas City: Royals fans waited nearly three decades for another playoff appearance and when they got the chance, boy did they make it count. The Royals had not made the postseason since 1985 when they beat the Cardinals in the World Series, a series that also marked Kaufman Broadcast’s first sports uplink. In 2014, the Royals clinched a berth, beat the Oakland A’s in the wild card game and then proceeded to rip off seven consecutive wins en route to the World Series. With the Kaufman team on site for NBC Sports Group, fans watched as the Royals took the San Francisco Giants to seven games, falling 3-2 in the final contest.

1) Ferguson Unrest: One of the largest stories in St. Louis history and our top pick for 2014 is the Michael Brown shooting and subsequent unrest that galvanized the nation. Countless demonstrations and protests were held across the country in response to Brown’s death. While many were peaceful, some protestors became unruly and several St. Louis businesses were looted or vandalized. The events brought local, nation and international media coverage, channeling politicians and pundits alike to Kaufman studios in St. Louis and Kansas City over the course of several months. Coverage was so intense that up to five Kaufman studios were operating simultaneously during primetime. The indelible impact the of the events in Ferguson and global reach is what makes it our biggest event covered this year.